In the course of doing a little research on old North Carolina laws, we picked up a copy of The Office and Authority of a Justice of the Peace, and of Sheriffs, Coroners, &c. According to the Laws of the State of North-Carolina, a book published in New Bern in 1791. While this is a compelling read on its own, we were drawn to a handwritten note on the leaf opposite the title page. It reads
Rescued from death & destruction in a warehouse in Raleigh, Feb. 25, 1893. Will this book ever pass through such an experience again? Let him who reads these lines in 1993 if this book survives till then, ponder on human life & think if he ever heard of me.
Stephen B. Weeks
We have heard of Dr. Weeks. Fittingly, his memory endures in large part because of his collection of books just like this. The Weeks library held an impressive array of printed North Caroliniana and was one of the important early acquisitions of the North Carolina Collection. Weeks may have been modest in looking only a century into the future—his library and his legacy will almost certainly last to 2093 and beyond.